US3561378A

US3561378A - Incinerator for treating both liquid and solid material

Info

Publication number: US3561378A
Application number: US834296A
Authority: US
Inventors: Firmin Alexandre Maurice Fabry
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1968-06-21
Filing date: 1969-06-18
Publication date: 1971-02-09
Anticipated expiration: 1988-02-09
Also published as: FR1603031A; ES368576A1; GB1275304A; BE734928A; DE1931355C3; DE1931355A1; DE1931355B2; CH492931A

Abstract

An incinerator comprising a grating, a burner and ash receiver beneath the grating, means above the grating for peripherally restraining garbage therein while admitting hot gases to the periphery of said garbage, and means for treating the gases evolved in the incinerator to precipitate out noxious components. The incinerator may comprise a boiler for evaporating liquids, special means facilitating the removal of cinders, and means for supplying the incinerator without permitting the escape of noxious gases while this is being done.

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventor [5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Fir-min Alexandre Maurice Fabry 9, avenue de Huy, Compiegne, Oise, France m m m W d M m t m m PM e u S mr m 06.! r. ne e w v h aua et fo H CBG wW 689 J m 662 m 999 H 111. 0 [ll .m

mu. 075 487 y W 944 am 662 m ,3 nn 331 PA ABSTRACT: An incinerator com and ash receiver beneath the for peripherally restrainin hot gases to the periphery of said treating the gases evolved in the inci noxious components. The incinerator ma for evaporating liquids, special means fac of cinders, and means for supplying the permitting the escape of noxious done.

110/8 F23g5/l2 l10/7,8,8 (A) 8(C),18

[5 4] INCINERATOR FOR TREATING BOTH LIQUID Ltw mm Mm mm D6 mm us mmm 0m rs S o 0m u. N8 mk A1 UIF MUM PATENTED FEB 9 I97! SHEET 1 OF 4 PATENTEDFEB SIB?! 3,561,378

same 0F 4 32 FIG.2

PATENTED FEB 9 Ian sum 3 or 4 PAT'EINTED FEB 9 l97|

sum

4 or 4 INCINERATOR FOR TREATING BOTH LIQUID AND SOLID MATERIAL SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the destruction of all sorts of household, industrial, or agricultural trash and garbage, regardless of whether it is in liquid or solid form.

The known apparatus capable of incinerating various types of material are rarely satisfactory, either because they work well with only certain particular material or because the residues do not conform to legal requirements relating to atmospheric and water pollution, or because they do not treat liquids, or because they are of a rudimentary nature and cannot prevent excessively violent combustion. The treatment of plastic materials is particularly difficult and only small quantities can be treated at a time. Their principal defect resides in the fact that the waste burns wherever it comes in contact with the starting flame. There is consequently mutual self destruction of the two combustions and the blowing of the auxiliary flame and combustion-supporting air against the material being burned and the ashes causes a large quantity of ashes and light products to be carried away into the atmosphere. It is therefore necessary to provide a smoke scrubber, the principal function of which is to put out the burning products which are emitted. However, the presence of water in contact with the combustion gases results in the formation of acids which pollute the air before they pollute the water. Moreover, the treatment of the smoke consists only of dust removal, without taking into account the chemical composition of the smoke which may still contain noxious gas and vapors such as acids, or toxic gases.

The object of the invention is to eliminate the above disadvantages and provide an incinerator which can destroy all the usual residuals, whatever their nature or proportions, and which will exhaust to the atmosphere only fumes which contain neither dust noxious gas, or noxious vapors.

The invention consists in introducing solid material which may be accompanied by liquid material into a distributor which has as its essential characteristic the fact that it concentrates a substantial mass of material above a grating so that this mass is externally bounded in part by solid walls and in part by the multiple surfaces formed by the natural slopes of the material itself. These are directly in contact with the hot ambient gases. Under the grating is a fire box for receiving fuel under a pressure so high that the hot gases are forced through the products on the grating, a single receiver being positioned under the grating so that the solids or liquids which have passes therethrough are kept close to the flame. Weighted dampers are mounted around the grating so that if the hot gases in the fire chamber reach a pressure predetermined by said weights, due to obstruction of the grating, the gases may escape directly at the periphery thereof to supply external heat to the products thereon.-

Another object of the invention is to provide the device with a fire box having double walls separated by an air space, the outer wall being directly heated by the burnt gases from the furnace, and the inner wall receiving the liquids to be destroyed when these are sufficiently abundant to require separate treatment.

The invention also relates to a device for preheating the combustion air as well as for regulating the combustion, the heattreatment of residual gases and the fluid treatment of said gases, as will appear more clearly from the following description of a representative incinerator taken by way of example, and illustrated on the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical section through the apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section through an associated device for the liquid treatment of fumes;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section through an alternative embodiment of the distributor which is especially adapted to the treatment of pulverulent products;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section through one of the connections at a floor when the incinerator is fed through chutes;

FIG. 5 is a schematic elevational view showing a device which is batch-fed from containers; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic elevational view of the apparatus for disposing of cinders.

The apparatus shown in FIG. 1 comprises a fire box 1 containing the flame of a burner 2 supplied by a suitable fuel. I! is equipped at its bottom with a receptacle 3 and covered by a grating 4, shown here as a basket, which grating is encircled by weighted dampers 5.

In normal operation the grating 4 is loaded with material to be incinerated. The burner 2 maintains in the firebox l a pres sure which permits the hot gasses resulting from the total combustion to pass through the grating and the products thereon, so as to positively insure adequate drying, heating and combustion. For this reason the burner 2 is supplied with an excess of air to permit this combustion. The pressure in the firebox I is kept constant and is correlated with the regulation of the burner 2, by appropriately weighted dampers 5. As a result, when the grating 4 is partially or totally obstructed, the dampers 5 open in exact proportion to the need to reduce pressure in the firebox I so that it may function normally.

Above the grating 4 is a distributor 6 for the products to be destroyed, which are supplied through the supply chute 7. This distributor comprises a plurality of wall members 6a which are frustoconical or frustopyramidal in shape and disposed as shown in the FIG. so that the periphery of the mass of material to be destroyed is partially defined by the naturally sloping sides thereof, beginning at the lower edge of one of the wall members, beneath which the material slides freely until it reaches the wall member therebeneath, and partially by the wall members themselves. The temperature inside the chamber 8 causes distillation, drying, and burning of the material at the periphery of the distributor 6. The resulting decrease in volume causes a slight settling of the material as well as spreading toward the periphery of the distributor. The distributor thus considerably increases the surface of the material in heat-exchanging contact with the encircling combustion chamber, thus providing better contact between the material to be burned and the hot gases in that chamber which dry, evaporate and burn the material. In fact, in the absence of the distributor 6, the products would rest on the grating 4 as a compact mass which would have a relatively small surface in contact with the chamber 8. At the same time distributor 6 contains the material to be destroyed in a volume of predetermined dimensions and prevents it from blocking the dampers 5. The upper part of the supply chute 7 may also comprise a plurality of wall members 7a positioned as shown in FIG. I and serving substantially the same purpose as the members 60.

It may be that some material will fall through the grating 4. This may be solid, liquid resulting from the melting of material which can be melted, or liquids which have not been completely burned or evaporated. In all these cases, the materials falling through the grating 4 land in the receptacle 3 just below the flame in the firebox 1, so that they continue to burn near this flame due to the excess air already described. However, the quantity of material passing through the grating represents only a very small part of the total volume treated.

When, on the contrary, there is a large quantity of liquid to be destroyed in proportion to the solid material, or even dangerous or highly flammable products, it is preferable to treat them separately in a special furnace 9 above the device hereinbefore described. This furnace has two

walls

9a and 9b separated by an air space. This makes it possible to avoid having the same wall in contact with both the hot gases from 8 and the liquids in the chamber 10. In effect, such a wall would be overheated in certain places and relatively cool in others, which would lead to flow and distortion, and would also produce zones of reduced resistance to corrosion due to excessive temperatures. On the contrary, the double-wall arrangement makes it possible to have an inner wall in bontact only with the liquids to be treated and an outer wall 9b in contact only with hot gases. Moreover, this wall 9b is completely surrounded by hot gases without being subjected to the influence of the cooler outer walls of the apparatus. As a consequence of this arrangement and the air space through which heat is exchanged between the

walls

9b and 9a an extremely uniform temperature for treating the liquids in the chamber 10 is obtained. These are introduced through a conduit 11 controlled by a nonreturn valve 12 for security against explosions, and supplied by a variable flow volumetric pump 13, from a reservoir 14. It is also possible to replace the space between the two

walls

90 and 9b by a refractory lining which is a poor conductor of heat. At the same time the bars of the grating 4 may advantageously be hollow or consist of two angle irons placed one above the other and separated by a refractory material.

in order that the vapors from the combustible liquids may be self-igniting a rectangular passage 15 is provided through which hot air is admitted from outside the wall 9b to the interior of the wall 9a. This air comes in just above the top of the liquid, not shown. The gas leaving through the upper orifice 16 also mixes with the hot air from the peripheral passage 17 an; may continue to burn if their combustion has not been completed.

The mixture then passes through a conduit 18 into a ch: mber 19 which encircles a firebox 20 supplied by a burner 21. A spiral baffle 22 is mounted between the

walls

23 and 24 to facilitate the heat exchange. A small part of the gas may also pass through a peripheral passage 25 between the wall 26 and the outer casing of the apparatus so as to avoid overheating and local cooling of the gas. Finally, at the outlet, a turbulence-producing device 27 mixes the burnt gases exhausted from 20 as well as the heated gases from 19 and the small quantity of gas from 25 into a homogenous mass.

This device makes it possible, whenever necessary to provide from thermal heating of the gases much more efficaciously than is the case with a process in which a flame is simply brought into contact with the gases to be burned, In such a process, the flame cuts itself a path while pushing back the gases without mixing with them and finally heating only the small part thereof in direct contact with its periphery. Thus the fumes are not heat treated so as to bring all the gases to the desired temperature, as is the case with the present invention.

By way of example, when chlorinated solvents, such as carbon tetrachloride, are being destroyed, the phosgene which is the combustion product is a highly toxic gas and heat treatment of the combustion products is essential in order to destroy this phosgene.

In addition to the thermal treatment of the fumes, which is primarily intended to destroy the unstable or combustible gases by transforming them into simpler compounds, it is almost always necessary to subject the gases to a water treatment in order to remove those compounds having an avidity for water, especially anhydrides and acids, which cannot be exhausted into the atmosphere without polluting it and causing the formation of noxious smog. For example, the destruction of chlorinated plastic materials such as polyvinyl chloride, which is extremely widespread, or chlorinated solvents, such as those previously mentioned, lead to the production of chlorine and hydrochloric acid on contact with the humidity of the atmosphere, while the burning of petroleum residues, which often contain sulfur, leads to the production of its anhydride and sulfuric acid. For this reason, the outlet 28 of the casing 26 is connected to the inlet 29 of the water treating apparatus shown in FIG. 2.

This comprises in the first place a heat-exchanger 30 provided with finned tubes 31 through which the gas passes. These tubes are externally cooled by a transverse current of fresh air drawn in through a duct 32. The gas, which has thus been cooled without being diluted, reaches the impregnating chamber 33 in a reduced volume. it is there sprayed with water through nozzles 34, using a quantity such that it is completely vaporized in the chamber and the gases leaving the chamber are so humidified that, depending on their temperature, the liquid supplied is not liquefied, but the other products present or formed by contact with the liquid, which have a vapor tension and condensation temperature greater than that of the liquid supplied, are liquefied and captured by the baffle 35, which serves to bring about a uniform dispersion of the products and insure a contact which intercepts, agglomerates, and drains the condensed products toward the outlet 36.

The gas then passes through another chamber 37 similar to the preceding chamber, into which more water is sprayed through the nozzles 38 so as to obtain a complete saturation of all the gas at the same time as an intensive cooling. The liquid sprayed in at 34 is thus condensed in the chamber 37 along with all the other products formed or dissolved and in condition to be condensed. The chemical reactions which were not completed in the preceding chamber are also completed; the solid insoluble particles are made heavy by impregnation and coating; and the gas being treated if finally homogenized and slowed down by the choice of the sections and the decrease in volume due to cooling and dissolution.

All the condensed products which have been dissolved or deposited are washed away by draining them toward the opening 39 at the bottom of the baffle 40 which serves the same purpose as the baffle 35. The consumption of water is thus limited to the quantity absorbed in the chemical reactions and used to impregnate the insoluble components, plus a quantity evacuated during filtering and some entrained by the gas. It should be noted that this consumption is relatively small because the gas is saturated when at as small a volume as possible and at a temperature approaching the ambient temperature. On the other hand, their low speed considerably reduces the mechanical entrainment of products by the gases.

The gases leaving the bafile 40 have a relatively low temperature and are therefore near saturation. For this reason they are mixed in a chamber 41 with the reheated air from the conduit 32, the mixture being drawn along by a suction fan which exhausts them to the chimney. This heating of the gases modifies their vapor tension and causes a dilution which avoids any unwanted condensation. The gases which are released through the chimney are neither noxious, not capable of polluting the atmosphere and are small in quantity.

The liquid injected into the chambers is preferably water, but other liquids may be used. The product evacuated at36 is small in volume and quite concentrated, so that it may be recovered, or if destroyed, its destruction is much easier and can be conveniently controlled. The product evacuated at 39, which is larger in volume, but less concentrated, may be filtered and permitted to settle so that the filtrate may be recycled at 34, in order to reduce the consumption of water and avoid the problem of eliminating the product released at.39.

In order to cool the casing of the incinerator proper and provide the hot air supplying the fire boxes 1 and 9, multiple vertical walls are provided and a suction fan 43 is rppunted at the top. The ambient air is sucked in by this suction fan through the air inlets 44 and moves upwardly in the outer jacket 45 before reaching the top. There only part of the air descends through the inner jacket 46, in which it continues to be heated by contact with the chamber 8 and descends to the bottom of the apparatus, to again rise and pass out through the openings 47 above the weighted dampers 5. In fact, if all the cooling air were drawn into the firebox, this would lead to an excess of air unfavorable to combustion, whereas conversely, if only the amount of air required for combustion were used for cooling, this would be insufficient to decrease the temperature of the walls to an acceptable value. In order to regulate the proportion of air which descends through the jacket 46. a damper 48 in front of the suction fan 43 is used, so as to be able to modify the proportion of the air directly evacuated by the suction fan. It is also possible for the admission of carbureting air at 47 to be completely eliminated, in which-case the apparatus functions strictly as a heater, using only the flame 2, with satisfactory efficiency.

In practice, the lack of homogeneity of the material and the continual variation of their Characteristics and quantity imply variable requirements for cooling air and carbureting air, as well as for heat supplied. The operation of the apparatus as a whole therefore requires constant regulation. This may be automatically obtained by a method which will now be described.

It should first be noted that the color and polluting effects of the fumes leaving the apparatus are the result of various factors, including the temperatures in the fireboxes l, and 20, as well as their quantity and dust content, but especially of their temperature at the moment at which they contact the atmosphere. This latter temperature has a very clear effect on their color due to the rapidity of the reactions and condensations. For this reason, in accordance with the invention, the temperature of the fumes at the moment of their release can be used as the basis for automatic surveillance and regulation of the entire apparatus. This temperature may in fact be measured at various points along the path traversed by the gas, provided that a correct interpretation is made.

i It is possible, for example, to position at the outlet 28 of the jacket 26 a thermostat 49 which is adjustable, and consider that there is a proper adjustment of this thermostat for each product or mixture of products which is to be destroyed. In effect, when the temperature recorded by the thermostat 49 rises, this indicates that the combustion in the firebox is active, which is favorable until the temperature reaches one above which there is a risk that too much gas will be produced, with consequent less complete combustion, leading to an uncontrollably violent reaction in the case of certain materials.

An automatic regulation is then provided in a manner such that when the thermostat warns that a predetermined temperature has been exceeded, the auxiliary burner 2 is stopped, thus diminishing the supply of carbureting air at 47 in order to slow down the combustion. For this purpose the regulator may act on the motorized damper 48 or on the speed of the

suction fans

43 and 42, or control a motorized damper for admitting external air, which damper controls the passage through which the fumes travel. When, on thecontrary, the thermostat 49 warns that the temperature has dropped below a predetermined value, this indicates that the combustion has slowed down and causes an inverse regulation of the same apparatus in order to prevent flameless smoky operation and reinstitute combustion. This automatic regulation results in steady opera tion and yield with respect to both air pollution and fume color at the same time that it makes judicious use of the auxiliary fuel and protects the material being burned against excessive or insufficient heat of combustion and prevents the waste of fuel. The thermostat 49 may be positioned at the outlet of the heat exchanger 30 and control the supply of liquid at 34 in order to keep the temperature and concentration of the condensate evacuated at 36 constant.

Alternatively, when treating pulverulent products such as sawdust, the above-described distributor 6 may be replaced by the special distributor shown in FIG. 3. This comprises an external jacket 50 and at least one inner chimney 51. This wall and chimney are pierced by registering orifices and joined together by metallic members 52 i which slope upwardly toward the center. On the other hand, the top of the space 8 is closed by the partitions 53. ln this way the pulverulent material which collapses forms natural slopes under the lower end of the chimney 51 as well as under the edges of the roof members 52. This closes the corresponding spaces, and, as in the previous example, leaves a large surface of the material in contact with the hot gases. In fact, all the hot gases which have not passed through the layer of material immediately above the grate 4 must pass through radial passageways between the roof members 52 and the corresponding sloping surfaces of the material in order to pass from the peripheral space 8 to the central chimney-51 before being exhausted through the upper end 54 thereof just under the furnace 9. it follows that this device ensures heating, evaporation and combustion in the very heart of the mass of material.

In order to assure the proper feeding of material to be incinerated, it has been seen that these are introduced through a supply chute 7 and it is important that this chute be kept close by a cover 55 so that it will not act as an inlet for unwanted air. In effect, all of the apparatus above the grate 4 operates at subatmospheric pressure, so that the chute must be constantly blocked.

When the chute 7 is directly connected to a garbage disposal chute at a higher level, which may serve several floors, the garbage-disposal chute 56 may be provided. just below each input station 57, with a trap 58 which pivots about a horizontal axis 59 balanced by a counterweight 60, so that it is normally in the closed position shown in FIG. 4, but can be easily swung to its open position. Once it has been closed, a pawl 61 mounted to swing about an axis 62, and free to swing in the direction indicated by the arrow 63 latches the counterweight to hold the trap in its closed position. A calibrated spring 64 under the end 61a of the pawl 61 resists swinging of the assembly comprising the weight and trap 58 in the direction of the arrow 65.

In this way, when garbage is thrown into the input station 57, or arrives thereat from a higher floor through the chute 56, it accumulates on the trap 58 until its weight is sufficient to cause the pawl 61 to overcome the resistance of the spring 64 and release the counterweight 60. At this moment the trap swings in the direction indicated by the arrow 65 and reaches the end of its path of travel as determined by the strength of the spring. All the garbage then drops into the lower part of the chute and the shock resulting when the end of said path of travel is reached helps clear off from the trap 58 any garbage which may have adhered thereto. The trap is then swung back by the weight 60 and returns to its horizontal closed position at which it is latched by the pawl 61. This makes it possible to keep the chute airtight and, at the same time, when the chute 56 serves several floors, avoid the sudden dropping of material through too great a height, which could cause disturbances in the chute 7 of the incinerator. In this case, at each floor the material is stopped by a new trap and falls each time through a short distance, without accumulating the energy which would result from a direct fall for several floors.

When, on the contrary, the incinerator is supplied from containers especially designed to collect the material from several dropping points, it is advantageous to use the device shown in FIG. 5 in which it may be seen that each container 66 is mounted on wheels 67 and provided with U-shaped members 68 and an upper rim 69 designed to fit into the entrance to the chute 7. This container may be rolled horizontally along the horizontal supports 70 of a cradle 71 which can roll on wheels 72 and 73 over two inclined rails 74, being drawn by two cables 75 wound at the top of the FIG. on a lifting winch not shown. In this way, after having placed the container 66 on the supports 70 of the cradle 71, the winches are so actuated as to lift the entire assembly. This lifts the container obliquely in the direction of the rails 74 until the U-shaped members 68 engage the studs 76 at the entrance to the chute 7. This swings the cradle 71 and the container66, which is latched thereto, about the axis of the studs 76. At the sametime, the cover 55 of the chute 7, which is pivoted at 77, comprises a projecting edge 78 which slides along the edge of the container and automatically opens the cover. At the end of its movement, as shown in phantom lines on FIG. 5, the cover 55 is completely open and the container is swung to an upside-down position with its rim 69 in the entrance of the chute 7. The chute is thus kept substantially airtight, and the capacity of the container to be positioned above the chute may be varied in dependence on the quantity of material already in the chute, so that the apparatus always operates with an optimum charge. Naturally, when the container 66 is empty, the winches may be operated in the opposite direction to restore the container to its original position.

After the incinerator has operated for a certain length of time, the cinders must be manually removed through an opening provided for that purpose. It is also possible to provide for automatic cinder removal by using the device shown on FIG. 6. It will be particularly noted that the bottom of the grating 4 is divided into two parts 79, each pivoted about a horizontal axis 80. The end of each part 79 is pivotally attached to a link 81, the other end 82 of which is slidable on a horizontal slideway 83, when appropriately actuated. When at rest, as shown in FIG. 6, the two links 81 are vertical so that they support the entire weight of the material resting on the grating 4 without transfering any force to the driving mechanism. When, on the contrary, the two ends 82 are moved horizontally apart by their mechanical control, the two parts of the grate 79 swing away from the vertical, as shown in phantom lines on the FIG. The same arrangement is provided for the receptacle 3 which is divided into two parts 84 actuated by two links 85 like the links 81.

When the two parts 79 of the grating and the two parts 84 of the receptacle are brought to the vertical, all the ashes, cinders, and solid material supported by the grating 4 is free to fall vertically in the direction indicated by the arrow 86 toward the bottom of the apparatus. from which they may be removed by appropriate means. In order to insure uninterrupted operation of the apparatus, it is nevertheless necessary to retain the material to be incinerated in the distributor 6 above these ashes during the time required to remove the cinders. This accomplished by a series of arcuate bars 87 which an movable between several pairs of grooved friction rollers 88 which act as guides. These bars are divided into two symmetrical groups so that the forces exerted by these bars on the material as they penetrate it compensate for each other. In particular, it will be seen that, when in rest position, the bars 87 are located on opposite sides of the hearth, in the cool zone beneath the three triple walls thereabove. On the contrary, when the bars slide in the direction of the arrow 89 on the friction rollers 88, they move along a circular path, and their ends 90 pass through suitable openings in the walls and then slide under the distributor 6, and force a passage through the material to be incinerated until they reach the position shown in phantom lines on FIG. 6.

This rrovement is produced by the mechanism shown on the FIG., which comprises, at each side of the apparatus, two

idler rollers

91 and 92 and a driving roller 93. On the other hand, for each of the bars 87 there is a cable 94 attached to the lower end 95 of the bar, which after passing over the roller 92, is attached to the upper end of a spring 96, to the lower end of which is attached another cable 97, the lower end of which is wound, one full turn for example, around the roller 93, and then fastened to that roller. Another cable 98 is also attached to this roller, and may be simply an extension of the other cable. This cable is also wound around the roller 93 and attached to the end 95 of the bar 87 after being wound around the roller 91.

In this way, when the two rollers 93 are driven one turn in the direction 99, all the bars 87 are individually driven in the direction indicated by the arrow 89, into the position shown in phantom lines on FIG. 6. However, if one or more of them encounter substantial resistance from the material to be incinerated, this results in an increase in the tension on spring 96 until the bars are capable of overcoming this resistance. Finally, if some of them encounter a resistance too great to overcome, for example, if their ends 90 encounter solid bodies of a certain size, they may stop completely, in which case the spring 96 partly or completely absorbs the movement of the cable 97 produced by the roller 93. Each bar is individually controlled, so that no excessive force is exerted on the material, and consequently on the distributor 6, and, on the other hand, all the material is supported by the bars, even where solid bodies have prevented the penetration of one or more bars, since at those points the solid bodies themselves are immobilized by the pressure exerted thereon by these bars.

At the end of the path of travel of this device, that is to say when the roller 93 has completed the desired rotation, Le, a complete turn in the example shown this actuates a terminal contact (limit switch) which automatically actuates the devices for opening the grate and the receptacle which have already been described. All the solid products contained on the grate 4 and under the bars 87 falls freely in the direction of the arrow 86. Naturally, during this operation the burner 2 is shut off.

After this material has fallen, the mechanism for operating the links 81 and operates in the reverse direction, closing the grate and receptacle; Terminal contacts complete these two movements before initiating the reverse movement extracting the bars 87 by driving the rollers 93 in a direction opposite to that of the arrow 99, thus causing the cables 98 to extract the bars which return to their original position. At the end of this last movement, the apparatus may be immediately started up again, so that it is stopped for only a short time, which is too short for the fire to go out, and without requiring the apparatus to be emptied.

It will thus be seen that in addition to operating very safely and not polluting the atmosphere, the apparatus according to the invention may be operated entirely automatically, and practically without supervision.

It will of course be appreciated that the embodiment which has just been described has been given purely by way of illustration and may be modified as to detail without thereby departing from the basic principles of the invention.

I claim:

1. Incinerator for garbage and the like comprising:

a grating (4) for supporting material to be incinerated,

a distributor (6) for peripherally restraining material placed on said grating in such manner as to expose substantial portions of the lateral surfaces of said material to the gases within said incinerator,

a chute (7) positioned to supply material to said distributor,

a fuel burner (2) beneath the grating which operates under a pressure sufficient to force the gases produced thereby through the material on the grating,

a receptacle (3) beneath the grating and burner flame positioned to receive and expose to said flame any material which may drop through said grate,

and dampers (5) at the periphery of said grating biased to open and permit gases from said burner to flow over the periphery of said material whenever the pressure produced by the burner exceeds a predetermined value.

2. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 in which the peripheral walls of the distributor comprise a plurality of spaced rings (6a which slope upwardly and outwardly.

3. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 in which the distributor comprises an external wall (50) pierced by a plurality of orifices and at least one central chimney (51) pierced by orifices aligned with the orifices in said external wall and connected thereto by a sloping cover (52) extending between the upper edges of the orifices in said chimney and outer wall.

4. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 comprising a small boiler (9) and a pump (13) for supplying liquids thereto, said boiler being positioned in the path of gases arising from the grating (4) and distributor (6), said boiler being formed by two walls (9a, 9b spaced 'by a poor conductor of heat and provided with lateral openings (15) to admit hot gas and an upper outlet (16) for evacuation of gaseous or vaporized products into the incinerator above the grating.

5. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 enclosed by double walls defining therebetween at least one space (45) connected to admit ambient air at its bottom and lift said air to its top, as said air cools said walls, means (43) for evacuating a portion of said lifted air from said incinerator, means (48) for regulating the amount of air evacuated and means (46) for conducting the remainder of said lifted air to said distributor to assist in the combustion of the material therein,

6. Incinerator as claimed in claim 5 in which the capacity of said air evacuation means is sufficient to enable it to evacuate all the ambient air admitted through the space between said double walls, so that in the absence of material to be incinerated, the incinerator may operate as a heater.

7. Incinerator as claimed in claim comprising automatic regulating means including an adjustable thermostat (49) positioned to respond to the temperature of the gases at the outlet of the apparatus and adapted to regulate the operation of the burner and the evacuation of air when said temperature exceeds a predetermined maximum or falls below a predetermined minimum.

8. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 which comprises heat treating means in which the gas leaving the incinerator passes through a heat exchanger (23) heated by a secondary burner (21) the gases from which are then mixed with those from the distributor.

9. Incinerator as claimed in claim 8, comprising a jacket (25) encircling said heat exchanger through which a small portion of the gas to be treated passes, and a turbulence producer (27) at the outlet to the heat treating means for mixing all the gas flowing out of said heat treating means. 7

l0. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 which comprisesa device for the fluid treatment of the gas produced therein, and comprising a heat exchanger (30) for receiving and cooling said gas by heat exchange with ambient air without mixing said air with said gas, at least one first chamber (33) positioned to receive gases from said heat exchanger and provided with means (34) for spraying thereinto the maximum quantity of liquid which will be completely evaporated therein so as to cause the condensation of a small portion of the concentrated noxious contents of the gas, a bafile (35) positioned at the outlet of said first chamber (33) for precipitating said noxious products and directing them toward a first outlet (36) at least one second chamber (37) at the outlet of said baffle (35) equipped with means (38) for spraying thereinto a quantity of liquid sufficient tosaturate all the gas passing therethrough and condense the noxious contents thereof, another baffle (40) at the outlet of said second chamber (37) adapted to facilitate the precipitation of said condensed products and direct them toward a further outlet (39) and means (42) for exhausting the remaining gas.

ll. Incinerator as claimed in claim in which the liquid sprayed into the second chamber (37) is water and the liquid sprayed into the first chamber (33) is the liquid recovered from the second chamber (39).

12. Incinerator as claimed in claim .l'in which said supply chute (7) is directly connected to the base of a vertical garbage chute (56) provided with several input stations (57), each accompanied by a trap (58) positioned just below the station, each trap being provided with weight responsive catch means (61) which permits the trap to swing when the weight of material thereon exceeds a predetermined minimum, and a counterweight (60) connected to close said trap when it has been relieved of the weight of said material.

13. Incinerator as claimed in claim I2 comprising a contact actuated by the trap (58) immediately above the supply chute (7)when said trap swings open, which contact is connected to control the operation of the incinerator through clockwork means set to cause operation of the incinerator long enough to incinerate the quantity of material supported by said trap.

14. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 comprising at least one wheeled container (66) for filling said supply chute (7), a cradle (70) on which said container is horizontally movable. inclined rails (74) in which said cradle is movable, means (75, 76) for moving said cradle along said rails and for swinging said cradle with said container into an upside-down position when they have reached the upper end of said rails, and a cover (55) for closing the supply chute (7) connected to be automatically opened when said container swings, said container having an upper rim (69) which fits closely into the upper end of said supply chute (7) when said container is upside down.

15. Incinerator as claimed in claim I in which the bottoms of said grating (4) and receptacle (3) are removable to permit the removal of ashes, and comprising means for supporting the material previously supported by said grating after such removal said supporting means comprising a lurality of individually movable bars (87) and means 2 9) for urging said bars into said material supporting position.

16. Incinerator as claimed in claim 15 in which the bars (87) are curved and move in a part-circular path between guide rollers (88).

17. Incinerator as claimed in claim 15in which said supporting means comprises two independent sets of bars (87) positioned symmetrically of said grate and adapted to be simultaneously actuated.

I8. Incinerator as claimed in claim 14 in which the removable bottoms of both the grating and thereceptacle comprise two pivotally mounted parts (79, 84), said incinerator further comprising normally vertical links (81, 85) for supporting said pivotally mounted parts in a horizontal position, a horizontal rail (82) on which the lower end of each link is slidable, means for swinging said links to remove said grating and receptacle, latch means preventing such removal until after said supporting means has been moved into supporting position, and preventing removal of said supporting means from its supporting position until said grating and receptacle have resumed their horizontal position.

Claims

2. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 in which the peripheral walls of the distributor comprise a plurality of spaced rings (6a ) which slope upwardly and outwardly.
3. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 in which the distributor comprises an external wall (50) pierced by a plurality of orifices and at least one central chimney (51) pierced by orifices aligned with the orifices in said external wall and connected thereto by a sloping cover (52) extending between the upper edges of the orifices in said chimney and outer wall.
4. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 comprising a small boiler (9) and a pump (13) for supplying liquids thereto, said boiler being positioned in the path of gases arising from the grating (4) and distributor (6), said boiler being formed by two walls (9a, 9b ) spaced by a poor conductor of heat and provided with lateral openings (15) to admit hot gas and an upper outlet (16) for evacuation of gaseous or vaporized products into the incinerator above the grating.
5. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 enclosed by double walls defining therebetween at least one space (45) connected to admit ambient air at its bottom and lift said air to its top, as said air cools said walls, means (43) for evacuating a portion of said lifted air from said incinerator, means (48) for regulating the amount of air evacuated and means (46) for conducting the remainder of said lifted air to said distributor to assist in the combustion of the material therein,
6. Incinerator as claimed in claim 5 in which the capacity of said air evacuation means is sufficient to enable it to evacuate all the ambient air admitted through the space between said double walls, so that in the absence of material to be incinerated, the incinerator may operate as a heater.
7. Incinerator as claimed in claim 5 comprising automatic regulating means including an adjustable thermostat (49) positioned to respond to the temperature of the gases at the outlet of the apparatus and adapted to regulate the operation of the burner and the evacuation of air when said temperature exceeds a predetermined maximum or falls below a predetermined minimum.
8. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 which comprises heat treating means in which the gas leaving the incinerator passes through a heat exchanger (23) heated by a secondary burner (21) the gases from which are then mixed with those from the distributor.
9. Incinerator as claimed in claim 8, comprising a jacket (25) encircling said heat exchanger through which a small portion of the gas to be treated passes, and a turbulence producer (27) at the outlet to the heat treating means for mixing all the gas flowing out Of said heat treating means.
10. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 which comprises a device for the fluid treatment of the gas produced therein, and comprising a heat exchanger (30) for receiving and cooling said gas by heat exchange with ambient air without mixing said air with said gas, at least one first chamber (33) positioned to receive gases from said heat exchanger and provided with means (34) for spraying thereinto the maximum quantity of liquid which will be completely evaporated therein so as to cause the condensation of a small portion of the concentrated noxious contents of the gas, a baffle (35) positioned at the outlet of said first chamber (33) for precipitating said noxious products and directing them toward a first outlet (36) at least one second chamber (37) at the outlet of said baffle (35) equipped with means (38) for spraying thereinto a quantity of liquid sufficient to saturate all the gas passing therethrough and condense the noxious contents thereof, another baffle (40) at the outlet of said second chamber (37) adapted to facilitate the precipitation of said condensed products and direct them toward a further outlet (39) and means (42) for exhausting the remaining gas.
11. Incinerator as claimed in claim 10 in which the liquid sprayed into the second chamber (37) is water and the liquid sprayed into the first chamber (33) is the liquid recovered from the second chamber (39).
12. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 in which said supply chute (7) is directly connected to the base of a vertical garbage chute (56) provided with several input stations (57), each accompanied by a trap (58) positioned just below the station, each trap being provided with weight responsive catch means (61) which permits the trap to swing when the weight of material thereon exceeds a predetermined minimum, and a counterweight (60) connected to close said trap when it has been relieved of the weight of said material.
13. Incinerator as claimed in claim 12 comprising a contact actuated by the trap (58) immediately above the supply chute (7) when said trap swings open, which contact is connected to control the operation of the incinerator through clockwork means set to cause operation of the incinerator long enough to incinerate the quantity of material supported by said trap.
14. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 comprising at least one wheeled container (66) for filling said supply chute (7), a cradle (70) on which said container is horizontally movable, inclined rails (74) in which said cradle is movable, means (75, 76) for moving said cradle along said rails and for swinging said cradle with said container into an upside-down position when they have reached the upper end of said rails, and a cover (55) for closing the supply chute (7) connected to be automatically opened when said container swings, said container having an upper rim (69) which fits closely into the upper end of said supply chute (7) when said container is upside down.
15. Incinerator as claimed in claim 1 in which the bottoms of said grating (4) and receptacle (3) are removable to permit the removal of ashes, and comprising means for supporting the material previously supported by said grating after such removal, said supporting means comprising a plurality of individually movable bars (87) and means (92-99) for urging said bars into said material supporting position.
16. Incinerator as claimed in claim 15 in which the bars (87) are curved and move in a part-circular path between guide rollers (88).
17. Incinerator as claimed in claim 15 in which said supporting means comprises two independent sets of bars (87) positioned symmetrically of said grate and adapted to be simultaneously actuated.
18. Incinerator as claimed in claim 14 in which the removable bottoms of both the grating and the receptacle comprise two pivotally mounted parts (79, 84), said incinerator further comprising normally vertical links (81, 85) for supporting said pivotally mounted parts in a horizontal position, A horizontal rail (82) on which the lower end of each link is slidable, means for swinging said links to remove said grating and receptacle, latch means preventing such removal until after said supporting means has been moved into supporting position, and preventing removal of said supporting means from its supporting position until said grating and receptacle have resumed their horizontal position.